Fabric take-off device



Oct. 13, 1936. J. D; MARKS FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE v Filed July 18', 1954 v 2 Sheets-Sinaai'l l l 4 INVENTR: 3

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Patented Oct. 13, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FABRIC TAKE-OFF DEVICE Joseph D. Marks, Wyonussing, Pa., assigner to Berkshire Knitting Mills, Wyomissng', Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 18, 1934, Serial No. 735,779

`.se claims. (o1. 66-149) My invention relates generally to fabric drawoff devices, and particularly to means of this character for use in connection With straight or full fashioned knitting machines.

The production of hosiery, by full fashioned footers, requires means for selectively holding certain of the narrowing points inoperative during the formation of the foot portion of the stocking, and when fashioning the toe part and producing therein the so-called diamond points. In this connection there is commonly employed mechanism, frequently referred to as the covering motion such mechanism including a point covering knife which op-erates during the knitting of the foo-t portion of a stocking to prevent the fashioning points,especially those of the small combs used for fashioning the toe part, from coacting with the needles during the fashioning of the sole of the stocking when operation o-f the small narrowing combs is not required.

During the narrowing of the sole, when the covering knife of each knitting sectionmoves'into and out of engagement with the small narrowing combs to prevent coaction between the latter and the needles, the free end of each knife so closely approaches the usual fabric take-up bar that it has heretofore been impossible to utilize a fabric-engaging hook on that portion of the bar in line with the covering knife. In view of this feature, an even distribution oftension could not be effected across the width of the fabric. Also, thehook bar devices heretofore employed necessitated careful handling to prevent the formation on the intermediate ho'oks ofi burs and sharp edges which damage the knitted fabric.

" vOne'obje'ct of my invention is to overcome the above-mentioned and other objections incident to devices of 'this g-eneral character heretofore employed, and to provide a device by which the tension on the fabric is held more uniform, whereby the fabric is protected against injury by contact With burs and sharp edges on the tension bar or hooks, and by means of which a fabric engaging hook may be maintained in place in line with 'the covering knife and free from the swing there- It is also an objectv of the invention to render such device simple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture and effective in its operation.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent from the following detailed description of the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings, my invention resides in the novel elements, features of construction and arrangement of parts in cooperative relationship as hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is an enlarged perspective View of a novel hook device forming part of my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective View showing my improved fabric draw-off device in use;

Figure 3 is an enlarged plan View of the drawoff device shown in Fig. 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 4-4, of Fig. 2, and showing addition-V al parts; and

Figure 5 is a View, similar to Fig. 3, but of a modified form of my invention.

Full fashioned stockings are usually knit on tw machines, the welt, leg and heel tabs being produced on a legger knitting machine, and transferred to a footer machine, which knits the sole, instep and toe portions, thus producing a continuous length of flat knit stocking fabric in which the line of jointure between the leg and foot is not perceptible in the finished product.

After a leg blank I2 has been knit on a legger machine,` it is transferred to a footer in the usual manner, so that each of the needles I3 engages a loop of the topping-on course previously knit on the'legging machine. The needles I3 are held in spaced relation to each other in a bed lI4 which is carried by a bar 'I5 by means of a clamp IB adjustably secured thereto by a bolt I1 in usual manner, as shown 1n Fig. 4. Connected to the fabric I2, by means of a draw-off bar yI8 and the strap I9, is the fabric take-up reel 20 carried by the rotatable shaft 22, which structure operates in a Well known manner to exert a desired degree of tension on the fabric tor maintain the latter taut. The fabric is supported by the reel 20, the strap I9, and the respective hook elements I0 and 23.

Figs. 2 and 4 disclose various parts of a Reading full fashioned stocking machine embodying the mechanism and elements of my invention, only those parts of the various mechanisms necessary to an understanding of the invention being illustrated. The various other parts and mechanisms and their operation being well known in the art, and shown and described in the Reading Full Fashioned Knitting Machine Catalogue (copyright 1929), published by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsylvania.

In accordance with one form of my invention, single or one-piece elements, such as hooks, are positioned along a tension bar, as by placing fabric engaging devices are correctly faced to engage the fabric, but the end hooks-are forward or toward the needles, and rthe otherfreverse hooks rearward or toward the take-.up reel, fromthe tension bar, in the draw-off direction. VBy this arrangement, the fabric is tensioned uniformly,

the center holding device being disposed-beyond the path of movement of the covering knife ;!the S-shaped devices holding the fabric clear ofthe bar and of the'screws. f v

The S-shaped hook device I0 of Fig. 1 includes a shank Illa, having a ring Illb formed at one end for receiving a holding member, such as a screw 24, Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, whereby thehook may be secured to the take-up bar I8. The hook furtherV comprises a prong or point Ic for engaging the fabric, and an intermediate part Id for connecting the part I Da to the prong IIlc. The prong Ic and the part I 0d together form a hook for engaging the fabric, and the part IOa and the part Id constitute a structure foi spacing the fabric engaging hook part Illd from the base of the device. Altho the shanks 23a, Figs. 2 and 3 of the usual end hooks 23 extend from the take-up bar I8 toward the needles I3 and the bases Illa of the intermediate hooks I 0 extend from the take-up bar away from the needles in the draw-off direction, the prongs 23o ofthe hooks 23 and the prongs Illc of the hooks I0 disposed at opposite sides of the hook holding screws 24, each extend away from the needles to so hook into the fabric inthe same direction as to draw it from the needles.

Heretofore, when hooks like the hooks 23 were employed at both the end and intermediate portions of the bar, since the prongs of all of the hooks were positioned at the oneand sameside of the holding bar toward the needles, theV fabric I2 engaged the bar and the screws 24 which hold the intermediate hooks to the bar. By the invention, the fabric normally is held taut above the screws and spaced therefrom, free from contact with jagged and sharp edges on the bar. and/or the screws to avoid impairment of the fabric.

v In operation, during the first dip, or loop-engaging motion of the narrowing mechaniSm.N, which iseffected simultaneously with each sole narrowing operation, performed with large outer combs, the small narrowing combs 25 which are centrally positioned at this time, are held inoperative, during the sole narrowing operations, by means of the covering knife 2B. Following the movement of the narrowing points into the knock-over bit structure, the covering knife 26, carried by the bracket 21 on the shaft 28, breaks engagement with the narrowing points 29 o-f the center combs during an oscillating movement of Ythe shaft 28 and the free ends thereof follow the arcuate path 32, indicated by dot-and-dash lines inFig. 4. During the outward swing of the cov-ering knife 25, awai7 from the needles, the simultaneous downward movement of the narrowing mechanism N causes the knives 26 to engage the fabric I2. The path of outward swing of the instead of forming the ring I Db directly on an l0 Vextension of the hook adjacent to the prong Illc,

as in the construction of the hook 23, the base I 8a is spaced from the prong Ic by a strut portion Illd on which the fabric I2 normally rests in .spaced relation to the bar I8 and to the screws 24. The diagonal strut portion Id, in addition to 'positioning the fabric I2 spaced above the bar I8 and therscrews 24, also renders the hook flexible, whereby the tension on the fabric is more uniformly distributed between the hooks. 20 In the fabric draw-off mechanism of a footer machine, it is essential'y that the hooks 23 engage the heel tabs I2a in order to distribute the tension to the selvedges of the foot portion. It is also desirable to .have a hook engage the center of the fabric, and to include intermediate hooks to distribute the tension exerted by the take-up strap I 9 uniformly across the width of the fabric. The reverse hook device of th-e invention provides the above-mentioned features in a simple economical structure. j

In contrast to the complicated structure of certain prior fabric draw-01T appliances and the difficulty encountered when attaching them to, and disengaging them` from, the fabric, my invention may be manipulated as readilyras standard structures, such as that shown and described in the above-mentioned catalogue, permits the fabric tension to be uniformly distributed, elevates the fabric from the hook bar and adjacent parts, and facilitates the production of hosiery of a superior grade. A

If it is desired to space the intermediate hooks Il a greater distance in the fabric take-off direction from the end hooks, than as shown in Fig. 3, f the offset end hook bar of Fig. 5, may be employed, on which the hooks 23 are carried by the offset portions 30 and the hooks I0 are secured to the intermediate-portion 3|.

Of course, the improvements specifically shown -(5g) and described by which I obtain the above results, can be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the invention herein disclosed and hereinafter claimed.

What I claim is: i5

1. In a knitting machine, the combination with a covering knife, a tension bar, a draw-off mechanism, and means for connecting the bar to said draw-off mechanism, of means for connecting the fabric to the bar including means for connecting a portion of the fabric to the bar in line with the covering knife in the take-off direction and dis'- posed clear of the path of travel of the knife adjacent to the fabric connecting-on position of said bar, said means also holding the fabric off the bar. 535

2. In a fabric-tensioning device, the combination with a knitting machine including needles and a covering knife, a tension bar, draw-off mechanism, and means for connecting the bar to said mechanism, of means for connecting the fabric f7() to the bar including end and intermediate single wire-like elements spaced therealong and having mounting-base rings, and screws in the rings securing the elements to the bar, the rings of the end elements each having a shank extendingto- 75 Ward the needles and terminating at the lower end of a hook of substantially C-shape and the rings of the intermediate elements each having a shank extending away from the needles and terminating at the lower end of a hook of substantially S-shape.

3. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of needles, a covering knife, and a tension bar, of means for connecting the fabric to the bar including elements on the bar at the ends, at the center and between the center and the ends, said end elements extending from the bar toward the needle bank, said center and intermediate elements comprising single members holding the fabric off adjacent parts of the bar and the center element being disposed clear of the path of travel of said covering knife adjacent to the fabric connecting-on position of the bar.

4. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of needles, a covering knife, and a tension bar along the take-off side of the needle bank having ends extending toward said bank, of means for connecting the fabric to the bar including elements on the bar at said ends, at the center and between the center and the ends, said end elements extending from the bar toward' the needle bank, said center and intermediate elements comprising single members holding the fabric off adjacent parts of the bar and the center element being disposed clear of the path of travel of said covering knife adjacent to the fabric connecting-on position of the bar.

5. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of needles, loop engaging points cooperating with said needles, a tension bar along the drawoff side of the needle bank, a draw-off mechanism, means for connecting the bar to said mechanism, and a covering knife for rendering said points inoperative svvingablev into and out of engagement therewith, of means for connecting the fabric tothe bar including a single hook member for connecting a portion of the fabric to the bar in line With the covering knife in the take-off direction and disposed clear of the path of travel of the knife adjacent to the connecting-on position, said member holding the fabric in spaced position above the bar.

6. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of needles, loop engaging points cooperating with said needles, a tension bar along the draw-off side of the needle bank, a draw-off mechanism, means for connecting the bar to said mechanism, and a covering knife for rendering said points inoperative swingable into and out of engagement therewith, of means secured to the exterior of the tension bar for connecting the fabric to the bar including a one-piece S-shape hook member for connecting a portion of the fabric to the bar in line with the covering knife in the take-off direction and disposed clear of the path of travel of the knife adjacent the connecting on position, said member holding the fabric in spaced position above the bar.

r1. In a knitting machine, the combination with a bank of needles, loop engaging points cooperating with said needles to effect special loop formations, a fabric draw-off mechanism, a tension bar intermediate the needles, and' the draw-off mechanism, means for connecting the bar to said mechanism, and a covering knife swingable into and out of engagement with said loop engaging points, of means secured upon the exterior of the tension bar for connecting the fabric to the bar including end members having hook and base portions extending in a common direction, and an intermediate member having hook and base portions extending in opposite directions for connecting the fabric to the bar in line With the covering knife and disposed' clear of the path of travel of the knife adjacent to the fabric connecting-on position of said bar.

8. In a knitting machine, the combination with a covering knife, a tension bar, a draw-off mechanism, and means for connecting the bar to said mechanism, of means for connecting the fabric to the bar including a reverse hook member for connecting the fabric to the bar in line with the covering knife in the take-off direction and disposed clear of the path of travel of the knife adjacent to the fabric connecting-on position of said bar.

JOSEPH D. MARKS. 

